1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a modular shutter assembly and, more particularly, to a plastic modular shutter assembly including at least one panel that has been die cut to a desirable length so that a single size injection molded panel can be cut to accommodate a different number of panels and/or different length shutter assemblies.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many different modern building designs take advantage of modular shutters for purely aesthetic purposes to decorate exterior windows. FIG. 1 shows an exterior front view of a house 10 that includes two lower story front windows 12 positioned on opposite sides of a door 14 and an upper story front window 16. The layout and style of the windows 12 and 16 show different types of popular window designs for different types of houses or other buildings. Positioned on both sides of each of the windows 12 and 16 is a modular shutter assembly 18 where each shutter assembly 18 includes a plurality of panels 20, here three panels 20. The modular shutter assemblies 18 are rigidly secured to a front wall 22 of the house 10 by appropriate securing devices (not shown) known in the art at a location that aesthetically accents the windows 12 and 16. The shutter assemblies 18 do not provide a functional purpose to the windows 12, but are provided for only aesthetic reasons.
The modular shutter assemblies 18 are an assembly of plastic parts that are individually formed and then secured together in a cost effective manner. The different plastic parts may be formed by different plastic fabrication techniques such as injection molding and extrusion. The plastic parts are secured together by appropriate fastening mechanisms, such as screws, adhesive, etc., in a manner that is well understood in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,116 issued to MacGowan on Oct. 6, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,442 issued to Chubb on Oct. 29, 1991 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,110 issued to Macleod on Aug. 23, 1988 disclose plastic modular shutter assemblies of the type being discussed herein.
Because the windows of a house or other building can come in various sizes, the length and width of the modular shutter assemblies 18 must also be available in different lengths and widths to appropriately accommodate the different windows. For example, for windows having a different height than that of the windows 12 and 16, it is necessary that the panels 20 come 25 in different lengths to extend the length of the shutter assemblies 18 and appropriately accent the lengths of the windows. Because known panels 20 are typically injection molded plastic parts, different size molds have heretofore been necessary to provide for different length panels 20. As is well understood, injection molds are relatively expensive components. Because the shutter assemblies 18 are relatively inexpensive articles, the necessity to provide many different sized molds for all of the different sized windows significantly adds to the cost of the shutter assemblies 18.
In order to at least eliminate some of the costs associated with the need for many molds to generate different length panels for known modular shutter assemblies, it would be desirable to provide a single mold for each of the different panel types that was of a size to accommodate the greatest length panel necessary, and then provide a mechanism for reducing the length of the panel to accommodate shorter length shutters. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such a mechanism.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, modular plastic shutter assemblies are disclosed that include panels that are injection molded and then cut to length to accommodate different length shutter assemblies. In order to provide different length panels, the present invention proposes providing a shutter panel mold that is large enough to fabricate the longest length shutter panel desirable. Once the shutter panels are molded by the injection molding process, the panels are introduced to a die cutting step that die cuts an end of the panel to provide a panel of the appropriate length for a particular shutter application. A separate injection mold provides panel end pieces to replace the cut portions of the panel to form a complete panel of the desirable length.
Additional objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.